By Niall Boyle

niall@sligopost.com

Heavy flash-flooding in Tubbercurry on Sunday night resulted in serious damage to a number of buildings in Wolfe Tone Square.

Licensed premises and retail units were hit hard as over three inches of rainfall fell in minutes, forcing owners to shut their stores - possibly to the end of the week.

The floods occurred just hours after temperatures soared into the 20’s after a scorching afternoon in the south Sligo town.

John Bourke, proprietor of The May Queen - which was submerged in three inches of water, described the flash flooding as ‘the worst’ he had ever seen in Tubbercurry.

“The flooding was the worst I have ever seen here. About 10pm it really started coming down and in minutes the pub was filled with three inches of black dirty water. We didn’t even have time to get sandbags out, not that it would have made any difference.”

“This is the third time this has happened in nine years, and the second time we have been flooded in 18 months. I can’t believe it, there is a lot of damage and we have had to take all the carpets up – it won’t come cheap to replace everything.”

Mr Bourke continued saying: “We didn’t go to bed until 5am because we were up trying to get rid of all the water. We would have been lost without the Fire Brigade who done a great job out here. Luckily the maple dance floor, which has been here for 25 years, wasn’t damaged.”

“We will do our utmost to ensure we are open for Saturday, as it’s a major night for us.”
Flooding in the square has been an issue for a number of years. Work was carried out last year with the replacement and installation of storm water piping, which it was hoped, would reduce flooding in the area following heavy rain fall.
However, after Sunday’s flooding, business owners and residents on the square are in fear of repeat flood damage in the future.